This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

In this family friendly drama, we experience something more than just a board game. We discover that chess can become a helping tool to support life. Eugene brown was a ex con who founded a chess club for at risk teens in the 1990's, this movie shows and gives out two messages think before you move and visualize the possible outcomes in life. It sends a good message to teens that are struggling in everyday life but that perseverance can payoff and that sometimes following the simple rules can be better than just winning. What i liked and found fascinating about this drama was that it not only showed how no matter what you've been through their is always a way out to a better life. As well as it sends out a heart warming message to not just teens but adults to.

What otherwise could've been a mere TV-movie, I'll give a borderline thumbs up to for Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s performance. He brings you around to caring about the plight of this ex-con who forms a chess- playing club for inner-city youths. You realize he's not perfect, has made his share of mistakes, and yes, will probably make more. But at the same time, you empathize with him, and want him to succeed. And chess?-yes, not the most exciting topic for a movie, but the movie is more about the story of the lead character and the other troubled kids in the film- look at it more as a "Dangerous Pawns" (take-off on "Dangerous Minds")..??

We were able to view this movie on Netflix streaming movies. It is based on the real life of a man who spent 17 years in prison and came out to help others follow a better path in life. Cuba Gooding Jr. is Eugene. While in prison he learned a bit about chess, enough to know that as a board game it can be a metaphor for life. In chess all the other pieces protect the King, and "Life of a King" can represent what each of us goes through. Jobs are hard to get for convicted felons but he manages to get a job at the neighborhood school in Washington, D.C. as a janitor. On a whim he is asked to watch a group of unruly students in detention after the usual teacher walked out in fear. He got them interested in chess but when it came to light that he had lied on his application, saying he had never been convicted of a felony, he had to be let go.But he found some property in disrepair that he could rent cheaply and formed the neighborhood chess club. It wasn't without significant obstacles and setbacks, but over the years it has been successful in giving disadvantaged students a better chance at life and has turned out a number of chess competition championships.Good movie and good job by Gooding, Jr.

I'm all for using movies about chess, or about any other matter, to tell a story with intent.But in real life, in real chess games, unless you have above average or even good understanding of the game, it is boring. So they stepped up the tempo a tad for good storytelling. Although to some real players, they'll immediately spot the inaccuracies.The principal did not demonstrate any knowledge whatsoever about chess. Nothing shown on the movie that is. And yet she had that ominous comment while she was watching the 'bad guy's game that he was "really good". The scene where T just won the last match on his first tournament and what do you know, a second after that the tournament admin shows up and tells him he was disqualified because he didn't have complete credentials. In real life, that guy would be in trouble. From EVERYONE there. Why did they let him finish the tournament and THEN spring the news to him? Might as well say, "Oh, you know what, you're disqualified. But thank you for wasting a lot of time and energy on this tournament. We hope we didn't break your heart and discourage you at all."And that help the chessman was supposed to coach T about? He started out with describing how his opponent would use the queen to hammer him, or some such. In real life, that is JUST NOT how you coach chess if you have decent enough skills to actually coach it. At least it should have been something vague, like how the guy would like to play a closed game. Preferred openings. Something like that. Not a specific piece that the opponent likes to use to win games. That's just ridiculous.In other words, they could have paid a little more respect for people who actually like and play the game on a regular basis. You know how some movies make you cringe, not in horror, but because there are just some scenes that are downright terrible? That's because most likely, the scene is an insult to your intelligence. And for chess players, there are scenes like that.Don't get me wrong though. Aside from these inaccuracies, it's a great movie. Worth watching at least once.